Put on your appliances and whip up some steamed asparagus because this week Matt and Ryan are taking a trip into the druggy and stylish world of Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010). Flavorfully directed by Panos Cosmatos this acid-fueled voyage hypnotizes with it’s stunning visuals and marvelous synth score. Join us as we give a shout out to heshers, edge players, and grammar astronauts this week on Ex Rated Movies!

The Grifters (1990) is a well-written neo-noir that comes with a stellar performance from Anjelica Huston and a hearty endorsement from Matt’s mom. It’s a movie that gets richer with every viewing and boasts a veritable who’s who of 90’s character actors. Stephen Tobolowsky!, Frances Bay! Pat Hingle! They’re all here. Join us as we mispronounce Annette Benning’s character’s name and ponder alien methods of eating an orange this week on Ex Rated Movies! #ThemsTheAppples

Start spreading the news, it’s double feature time! For our 60th episode we decided to honor the exceptional Parker Posey, an actress whose talent for invention and inimitable charisma consistently charm and astonish us. Whether she’s improvising her way through a Christopher Guest film or stealing the show in a Gregg Araki movie, she always manages to bring depth and flair to her characters. Our Parker Full of Poseys includes a four episode arc from the TV show Louie (S03 Eps 04,05,09, and 13) and the independent cult hit Party Girl (1995). Join us as we celebrate this one-of-a-kind actress this week on Ex Rated Movies!

For the final installment of Matt’s Season of Enfranchisement, he chose the best superhero movie ever made, X2: X-Men United (2003). Directed by Bryan Singer, this movie manages to strike the difficult balance between blockbuster entertainment, realistic character development, and pertinent social overtones with some hot dudes thrown in for good measure. That’s the Bryan Singer touch! Join us as we discuss some Oscar bait and reveal our preferred mutant abilities this week on Ex Rated Movies!

If you like hearing two people audibly squirm as they attempt to tackle some super icky subject matter, then today is your lucky day! This week, we discuss Todd Solondz’s magnum opus, Happiness (1998). It’s a controversial film that asks you to sympathize with some truly vile characters and dares you to laugh at the deep, dark emptiness that resides within us all. Recommended! (Recommendation rescinded if you are subject to bouts of the vapors, a tendency to clutch your pearls, or an inability to laugh at the idea of celebrities eating babies.) Join us for an episode rife with heavy sighs this week on Ex Rated Movies!

This week we jump into a torpedo tube and immediately launch ourselves into a conversation about James Bond and the things that surround him with You Only Live Twice (1967). It’s got it all: the song, the locales, the gadgets, the set-pieces, and the sexism. Lots and lots of sexism. Join us as we get snobby about martinis, describe Matt’s sex costume, and ponder the death of the Broccoli lineage. All this and a painful reopening of the salted caramel debate this week on Ex Rated Movies!

If the mark of a good story is when you have three friends explain it to you and you still don’t understand it, then the Seattle-centric Scorchy (1976) definitely fits the bill. The kids from The Dead Beat Film Society podcast join us this week to discuss everything from old Seattle landmarks, to glass ceiling shards, to Canadian dogs. Buckle up, kids because we’re hopping in a dune buggy and heading to the Fun Forest this week on Ex Rated Movies!

Accio some pod lube and lower your Expecto-tions, we’re heading to Hogwarts this week to talk about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). This Alfonso Cuarón-helmed entry in the franchise features time travel, shadow/light interplay, and some Miller’s Crossing level exposition. Also, in store: Ryan makes a case for divination, Matt questions Malfoy’s “dickitry”, and we both summon our patronuses. Patroni? Whatever. It’s a magical fairy land this week on Ex Rated Movies!

Very few American institutions have had the broad social appeal of The Muppets. Jim Henson’s creations have brought their offbeat yet warmhearted sensibilities to almost every branch of our culture. And that includes movies! Ryan’s pick this week, his favorite from The Muppet franchise, is The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Join us as we ponder Kermit’s filing status, Miss Piggy’s feminist leanings and our own showering habits. Peoples is peoples this week on Ex Rated: Here Comes the Bagel!

It’s a new year and we’re ringing it in with the UberEats McDonald’s of horror movies, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986). This cheeky, meta installment of the franchise manages to poke fun at the horror movie genre while simultaneously exemplifying the 80’s slasher flick. What’s the most temperate month in America? Do you need a certificate to operate U-Scan technology? Is there anything east coasters don’t bitch about? We delve into all this and more on this New Year’s Day episode of Ex Rated!